dot dot dot, depending on the one of the. loss because he is one that -- so those of the two i'm looking at. >> that's your. thing last to you, david. we have just a few seconds. what races are going to serve as the bellwether trying 24? >> alex, we remain in a close jobs election cycles, so i think that's what we are looking at, and with the democratic governor who should be at the states -- >> where racist perform differently. . thank you so much. i thank all of you for watching, that's gonna do it for me on this edition of alex witt reports. my friend yasmin vossoughian wishes you. out we're on ♪ ♪ ♪ time. there you go. >> good morning to you.

i'm yasmin with you again. another busy day across the middle east, diplomatic efforts unfolding today, and scheduled meeting between secretary of state tony blinken and palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas, with the two men discussing, and the promise lincoln blinken shared with the palestinian leader. we have a number of live reports from across the region coming up in the next two hours ahead. and from the campaign trail to the courtroom, former president donald trump is scheduled to testify tomorrow in the civil fraud trial against him. what prosecutors are most likely to grill him on and will his testimony even matter after the judge in the case has already found that trump is liable. remember, this is just about damages. later on, a triumphant return ten months in the making, after suffering a cardiac arrest on live television playing football, damar hamlin is back in cincinnati. and this time, he's bringing a special message for the nation. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hey, everybody. we're gonna begin with the latest from events in the middle east, where there has

been a complete interruption, as they put it, of all communications and internet services in the gaza strip. that is according to the palestine telecom company. it is coming as a short time ago, israeli defense forces opened up a temporary evacuation route to southern gaza for fleeing residents. the four hour window was put in place despite what idf troops say were hamas's efforts to hold the exodus by putting more fire and anti tank shells along the border. and you just heard secretary of state tony blinken's surprise visit to the west bank to meet with palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas. we have details on that in just a moment as well. the visit by this country's top diplomat coming amidst claims by hamas that as many as 60 hostages had been killed as a result of israeli bombardment of gaza. there is a report that nbc news has not been able to independently verify. and the death toll of the israel hamas war has now surpassed 11,000. at least 1400 have been killed in israel. and upwards of 9700 have been

killed in gaza, according to gaza's health ministry. another number that nbc news has not been able to confirm and cannot confirm. so, we are just learning in the past hours that blinken also made a surprise visit to iraq, saying it is critical to enjoy the conflict in israel and gaza, and that it doesn't spread to parts of the region. nbc reporter joins me now from where the president is spending the weekend. erin, thanks for joining us on this. we appreciate you. talk to us more about this surprise visit made by the secretary of state. and what more he had to say about the current efforts on the humanitarian pause in gaza? >> reporter: yeah, yasmin, he made two stops during the surprise visit to baghdad, first at the u.s. embassy, to give a situational update from the nbc embassy staff about the security of the staff there of the embassy, as well as military operations that are in, positioned in baghdad right now. obviously, we know that over the last several weeks, there has been several attacks on

military installations in iraq. several u.s. troops have been injured as a result of some of those attacks. and the secretary wanted to make sure he got an update about what's happening there. and this was really an opportunity in those conversations and the conversation we had with the iraqi prime minister, an opportunity for him to say to iran that these attacks by iranian proxies are not going to be tolerated. and that the u.s. will continue to respond as it has been over the last several weeks to any incursions that may happen in that area. and to anything that iran's proxies may do to affect the larger conflict that's happening right now with israel and hamas in gaza. the secretary also took several questions, and this is where he was asked about his visit with arab leaders over the weekend, his visit to the west bank as well, and his conversations with the israelis, in particular around the potential for a humanitarian pause in gaza after so many deaths and injuries during israel's ground invasion at this point.

and so, the secretary it was that idea of a pause in particular. i want you to hear some of what he had to say. >> it's important that as we are engaged in a humanitarian pause, this can be something that advances the prospect of getting the hostages back. it can also advance other things that we are committed to doing, as is the government of israel and other partners in the region, especially getting more humanitarian assistance to people who need it in gaza. >> reporter: now, the u.s. has not been pushing for an all-out cease-fire in gaza. but it has been indicating a desire for a humanitarian pause. as the secretary has said, there is ongoing conversations, yasmin, about how a pause would work, when exactly, where exactly it would be, and under what circumstances? obviously, the israelis have said the only way that they would consider a pause in the fighting is if it was to get hostages out of gaza. and at this point, our best indicator is that the conversations are still happening around that.

but there is no immediate pause coming in the short term. yasmin? >> by the way, we are getting a live report from tehran, just a couple of minutes, especially after the comments from secretary of state tony blinken. aaron gilchrist, thank you. in israel, idf troops continuing their bombardment of gaza. overnight, overnight, israeli killing at least 47 people. that is according to palestinian health officials. i want to bring in nbc's jay gray was on the ground for us in tel aviv. if you will, jay, i want to dig into the refugee camps, causing across the board mascot welty's like the one we just mentioned. and the idf now being criticized for it. how are they responding? it. how are they responding?>> reporter: noe that they've been striking refugee camps. this is a refugee camp in central gaza. dozens killed, again, according to hamas run ministry of health in gaza. many more injured. what the idf says is that they

are, and i'm quoting, they are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the explosions. so, they made no real comment on what has happened. but they continue to say as many civilian structures have been damaged or hit is that they are explicitly targeting hamas leadership, operational structures. they are looking for command centers. and they continue to point to what they call evidence of tunneling underneath hospitals and underneath communities and areas where hamas is working out of heavily-populated civilian communities, and saying they are striking where hamas is. we understand the public perception seems to be shifting as a result of the civilian hits. but to this point, they continue to carry out what they say are very important strikes to cripple and eventually eliminate hamas. >> in the surprise visit, that is the secretary of state, meeting with palestinian

authority president mahmoud abbas, he praised abbas for tamping down tensions inside the west bank. i know idf security forces overnight arrested 34 people who are wanted throughout the west bank on suspicion of involvement in terror activities. 18 of them belong to hamas. talk more about this. >> reporter: let's not kid ourselves. the west bank is a dangerous and progressively more dangerous area right now. the idf has more than double the amount of arrests in that region since october 7th, close to 2000 people have been arrested. we know that they say that they have arrested people as part of their counterterrorism effort in the area. they believe that there is a west bank faction of hamas that is working actively within the west bank. they have confiscated weapons and ammunition. but we should also point out that many palestinians in that region have said that they have been abused by police and idf

in the area that they've been arrested, with no crime committed. and so, tension continues to bubble over and the west bank. and it is an area that a lot of people are watching very closely. >> jay gray, thank you, appreciate it. coming up in just 60 seconds, folks, the former president on the stand. what to expect tomorrow when donald trump testifies in the 250 million dollar new york civil trial. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ t, catchy music ♪ >> tech vo: this couple counts on their suv... as they travel for their small business. so when they got a chip in their windshield... they brought it to safelite... for a same-day in-shop repair. we repaired the chip right away. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech vo: plus, to protect their glass, we installed new wipers too. that's service the way you need it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes.

buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. [stomach growling] it's nothing... sounds like something. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion♪ ♪upset stomach, diarrhea♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes for fast relief when you need it most. >> all right, folks. it's happening. less than 24 hours from now, the former president is expected to take that stand in his own defense. trump is gonna testify in the new york civil fraud trial against his companies and others as well. it's coming after his two adult sons, don junior and erika, testified in back-to-back appearances last week, where they repeated nearly identical defense claims. one of them getting a little bit more angry on the stand in the other. it was the accountants, not

them, who are to blame for this fraud. but will that same line of defense hold up for donald trump himself? joining me now, criminal defense attorney and msnbc legal analyst, daniel solomon. we always need to repeat this. the judge has already deemed that there was fraud here. >> that's right. that's one of the claims. >> and so, this is really more about damages at this point. >> to some degree, there's additional counts that the attorney general still has to prove. but that major finding, in ruling on some judgments, does conclude that there was already fraud so that is an issue that isdecided and that looms over this trial. >> essentially, they're trying to figure out who's responsible for this fraud, i.e., the defense that we are hearing from eric trump, and the defense that we're hearing from don jr.. and how much should they be responsible for that, right? the penalty here. so with that in mind, what are your expectations for the testimony of the former president? >> there will be no surprises. you need to only look at donald

trump jr. and eric trump's testimony already to give you a preview of what the former president is going to say when he takes the stand. in fact, it will be even magnified. in other words, to the extent that the other trump's focused on two major themes, and those things were, i may be the head of the organization, but i relied on the people beneath me, i relied on my minions, the accountants, everything else. theme number two is going to be, it is near a cola state. you add that to the fact that the trump brand itself is also something of nebulous value, and really, really state is whenever everything once to pay for. those two things, i think, would be central tomorrow for donald trump because he's going to testify that he was even less involved than eric trump than donald trump jr. and ivanka trump. he is going to testify and just sort of brush off that, look, yeah, i was mildly aware of that. look, i'm busy. i do reality tv. i wasn't paying attention. i rely on the accountants. you're gonna hear a lot of the

same. >> how much do you think the defense is gonna focus in on the testimony from michael cohen in which he was not explicitly told to inflate some of the numbers for some of the properties in which they're talking about in this case? instead it was implicit. >> looking for that in closing arguments and in motions and everything else. but i've been saying that the attorney general's decision is to call michael cohen, that may have been great for headlines. but when it comes to substance, michael cohen did not really have that much to add. he is, he has a ton to talk about in the new york criminal case based on the alleged chaos to stormy daniels. he has plenty of substance there. in this case, you pointed it out, he did not actually directly receive orders in a way that would have really harmed the trump defense. far more devastating for the trump defense here is the lesser known testimony of an expert, for example, on wednesday, who testified that the trump defendant, i think somewhere on the range of 160 million as a result of their false statements. >> what about the testimony

suzanne craig and i talked about this yesterday of the banquet as well, talking about the damages from there? is that something that's also going to be incredibly important in this case that we have not necessarily talked about? >> yes, and i would argue in a way, it is more important than, say, eric trump and don trump jr. because the a.g. knows what they're going to get from those witnesses. they're gonna be constant. they're not looking to help. there is nobody on the a.g. side that was surprised when those witnesses said things like, look, i just for concrete. i'm not involved in this, or i rely on the accountants. they know that testimony is coming. that's why they were building their case with maybe less headline grabbing witnesses. but to me, much more compelling. i mean, you put an expert on the stand to explain to the judge who may not be a, you know, financial wise. this kind of testimony is highly specialized. so, you know, it needs to be something late people can understand. and the judge is having this explain to him that, look, by virtue of these false statements, these defendants saved $168 million.

so they had a motive. they had a reason to do this. that's the compelling testimony. >> how much is the gag order going to affect his testimony here, because initially, the former president had a gag order only on himself. now this thing has been expanded to the former president's attorneys as well because of the things that were said about the court clerk, the judge expanding this gag order. and wondering how this is gonna play into him taking the stand on monday? >> there is a jubilee of gag orders, not only this case, but in some of the other criminal cases. and you know, they really raise some really complicated constitutional issues. it is balancing prior straight, which is normally constitutional. normally, the government can't prevent you from speaking. but on the other hand, courts have to safeguard the sanctity, the safety of witnesses. it's always a balancing testimony, and it's a very difficult one. and the reason the judge issued back orders spectacularly interesting, they all appear to be sort of as they come. he is making these decisions from the bench. whereas in the federal cases,

you see judges are writing out reason opinions. but the judge is just sitting on the bench apparently after lunch, saying i don't like what he said about my clerk. i'm just gonna show a gag order. >> that doesn't usually happen that way. >> actually, i think it's the distinction between state and federal court. in federal court, you get tons of written opinions, citations, things like that. state court, it's a slightly different game. it's a little less formal innocence. >> are you expecting the same from ivanka on wednesday at her testimony, as we heard from don junior and eric? we're even more distance? >> i think ivanka trump has somewhat more information to add. she has some of the corporate information that i think they're gonna find compelling. keep in mind, part of the basis that the a.g. wanted to bring her in to testify was that her involvement with the corporation, i think, might yield some additional testimony. arguably, ivanka trump may have more information, more substance, maybe compared to erik and don, and certainly more than donald trump senior, former president. i think is gonna have the least substance. i think you're gonna see so much testimony of i don't know,

i don't recall. and that wasn't really what i did. >> finally, ivanka trump with executive vice president at the trump organization until early january 2017. danny cevallos, i've always, great to see you, my friend. thank you. up next, brand-new nbc polling shows the most important presidential quality amongst republican iowa caucus voters. also ahead, signs of a possible rift growing between president biden and israel's benjamin netanyahu. plus, and additional return for buffalo bills damar hamlin back in cincinnati where he suffered a cardiac arrest last year. the work that is done to raise awareness for heart health. gotta love that. we'll be back. >> taking a nation of bystanders into a nation of lifesaver. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ pneumococcal pneumonia? i help others. but i need to help protect myself. honestly? i couldn't afford to get sick. i want to be there for this one. i can't if i'm sick. pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease.

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we are exactly 12 months ay from next year's presidential election. and a new new york times siena college poll showing biden trailing former president trump in hypothetical general election matchups in five of the six top battleground states. the biden camp releasing this statement in response, which reads in part this, predictions more than a year out tendto look at your different a year later. we're gonna win in 2024, by putting our heads down and doing the work, not by fretting about a poll. it's coming as a new nbc des moines register and media poll revealing that the ability of beating biden is the number one quality iowa republican voters

say they're looking for in the presidential candidate. senior political adviser marc murray has more. >> yasmin, the latest numbers from our brand-new nbc news des moines register media poll of iowa ended up testing nine different candidate qualities ahead of the upcoming iowa republican caucuses. the most popular candidate quality is the ability to beat president joe biden, with 74% of likely republican caucus goers saying that that candidate quality is extremely important to them. that is followed by believing in a stronger american role overseas, with 54% sayinghat that candidate quality on the republican side is extremely important. after that, you have, being an adult in the room. and after that, working with the opposing political party. the least popular candidate qualities in our poll are being a person of faith, which is 36% of iowa republicans saying that that candidate quality is

extremely important to them. and then, republicans fighting without compromise and when the iowa caucuses. it's important to note overall, our poll finds donald trump with a 27 point lead among his nearest republican rivals in the state of iowa. and donald trump ends up holding leads among iowa republican caucus goers in all of these different candidate quality groupings, those who actually think that these candidate qualities are extremely important to them. but there are two important exceptions here. being an adult in the room and working with the opposing party, donald trump ends up leading may just a small, i have to say, just a small lead among those republican caucus goers. so, showing some potential vulnerabilities on those two issues for the former president. we are now 17 days away from the iowa caucuses. and if a candidate is going to defeat donald trump from a republican nomination, despite all the legal hurdles the former president is facing, it

has to start in iowa. back to you. >> thank you, mark mary, for that. after the break, iran's supreme leader reportedly meeting with the head of hamas. we're live in tehran and what that relationship means for the israel hamas war. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season. right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. woman: who's that, who is that? cole: this is my puppy! woman: cancer. it's different in a child. because your child is still growing. charlie: i had 14 rounds of chemo. there's thousands and thousands of kids all over the world who need help.

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right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. >> welcome back.

let's get back to gaza where nbc news erin mclaughlin has a new video captured by our team in central gaza, of the aftermath of that israeli

airstrike on a refugee camp. our jay gray was reporting reporting on that earlier this hour. we do want to warn you, though, some may find this video disturbing. aaron. >> reporter: the nbc team on the ground in gaza made it to the aftermath of what the palestinian health ministry says it was an israeli airstrike on the refugee camp in central gaza. according to the palestinian health ministry, 47 palestinians were killed in that airstrike. scores more wounded. that death toll seems likely to rise given the scene that our team and carrot when they arrived. the building completely collapsed. scores of palestinian men and boys with knives and hammers trying to cut through giant slabs of concrete to get to that bodies. they say they were still trapped beneath the rubble. now, we have yet to hear from the israeli military on that apparent air strike. the israeli military continuing to urge civilians to evacuate from the northern portion of gaza to the southern portion of

gaza. but it is worth noting that that refugee camp where that strike took place last night is considered to be south of the gaza city, where they are telling civilians to evacuate. back to you. >> our thanks to erin maclachlan for that. i want to turn now to the broader scope of this war between israel and hamas. reuters is reporting a short time ago a meeting that was held between iran's supme leader ali khamenei and the leader of the iran-backed palestinian group hamas, ismail haniyeh. they report sourced iranian state media. just minutes ago, secretary of state had this to say about any moves that iran may make to get further involved. >> it was very important to send a very clear message to anyone who might seek to take advantage of the conflict in gaza to threaten our personnel here and anywhere else in the region, don't do it. i made very clear that the attacks, the threats coming from militia that are aligned

with iran are totally unacceptable. and we will take every necessary step to protect our people. >> joining me now, nbc's tehran bureau chief ali arouzi. we know that iran has been engaged in this proxy war but not directly getting involved in any conflict happening between israel and hamas so far. now, this meeting, we are seeing some pictures emerging between the head of hamas inside iran along with iran's supreme leader. talk to me more about what this means with regards to iran's involvement in a possible whitening conflict, and where do they stand on this? >> reporter: hey, yasmin. that's right. iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei, met with hamas leader ismail haniyeh. according to state media, they did not specify the exact date they met. we think it was in the last couple of days. what is interesting is that social media channels linked to hamas were reporting this two days ago. but iranian state media only

spoke about it today, and this marks the first meeting between khamenei and haniyeh since the war broke out on october 7th. they met in june previously before that. also interestingly, there was no public statement. it was a closed-door meeting. but according to iranian state media, haniyeh briefed khamenei on the latest developments in gaza and the west bank. khamenei expressed his appreciation for the resilience of the people of gaza and expressed regret over what he described as israeli war crimes, which he said were supported by the united states. he also emphasized iran's permanent policy of supporting the palestinian resistance forces against what he calls zionist occupiers. and i think, yasmin, that's one of the key takeaways from this meeting. there's no doubt that hamas was expecting a much more forceful speech from hassan nasrallah, the head of hezbollah. they want to deliver some kind of an ultimatum or make some sort of declaration of war. but he didn't. by not doing so, he would be

seen as iran giving that direction because hezbollah takes its directions and orders from tehran. in some ways, this meeting between haniyeh and khamenei is being interpreted as to her on giving hamas assurances that they still have their back, that they still support them financially, military, and all of that won't dry up in the coming months. as they are engaged in this war with israel. also just the fact that haniyeh, and i think this is a key point to point out, a man that the united states has designated as a global terrorist, who lives a life of luxury in qatar, a country that's been instrumental in financing hamas, but also has good relations with the u.s.. yet, haniyeh he is able to travel unimpeded without any real risks to iran and then back to qatar, that should raise some uncomfortable questions about washington's relationship with doha. you know, i think that is a key element of this, this guy can

travel around very freely, and yet he is a terrorist. i think there's also going back to our conversation yesterday that for iran, i think this was enough. they have achieved a lot of their objectives. you know, one of their main proxies dealt a terrible blow to israel on october the 7th, and antisemitism is on the rise. you are seeing pro palestinian rallies in western cities, which iran talk about every day. and they put it on the news. and iran has come out of this whole thing unscathed, and haniyeh can come back and forth and meet with iranian leadership. and they've also reestablished themselves as a major power in the middle east, harboring talks between israel and saudi. this is a good outcome for iran. >> you make such an incredible point, ali, that qatar is working as a go-between when it comes to hostage negotiations and getting israeli hostages released out of gaza, when one of the top leaders of hamas is currently living freely and quite well in qatar as well.

ali arouzi, think you so much for your analysis and your reporting on this. as always, we appreciate you. so, as this war rages on in its fifth week, the relationship between president biden and israeli prime minister bibi netanyahu is continuing to be put to the test. the biden administration this week call for a pause in fighting to allow aid to get into gaza, a request that has been denied by netanyahu unless hostages are released. and an opinion piece in the daily beast saying this, the biden administration must make it clear that unless e israelis take far more effective steps to limit civilian casualties from their operations in gaza, they'll also achieve real progress in eliminating hamas leadership of gaza, that the u.s. spigot of support will be turned off. david rothkopf is the author of that piece and he's the ceo of the rothkopf group, and he joins me now. david, as always, pleasure to talk to you about this. let's talk about a couple of different things that we've heard so far today. we heard about the surprise trip of secretary of state tony

blinken, once again, reaffirming his support for israel, meeting with mahmoud abbas, the leader of the palestinian authority. also now this handshake between iran's supreme leader khamenei and the leader of hamas inside of the han, who lives quite luxuriously in qatar. what do you make of this split screen moment, david? >> well, i think it underscores the complexity of what we are seeing here. this is not simply a conflict between israel and the palestinians yet again. although it's that. and of course that raises many troubling issues. the palestinians have had divided leadership. the united states recognizes that the only way to a lasting peace is through a political settlement that requires if hamas is gone, some want to step in. i think tony blinken meeting with the leader of the palestinian authority is a clear sign that they are next in line for this. they are the ones who are gonna have to step up. the israelis are gonna have to

recognize this, and we're gonna have to find some kind of dialogue with him, and some kind of effort to strengthen them because, of course, they were pushed out of gaza. >> right. >> at the same time, the bigger conflict, the bigger risk here is that this spreads. clearly, iran is behind it. iran has influence throughout the region and threats throughout the region. the u.s. has massive military forces in the region, and in order to send that strong message of don't, that tony blinken was underscoring. but the united states has this double, triple diplomatic set of issues to deal with, region white ones, the ones leading to the peace, and the ones having to do with the conduct of the war that's been fought right now. >> before we get further into your piece, which i thought was brilliant by the way, how can blinken, how can president biden expect hamas to be integral in creating a two

state solution, and leading gaza after this war is over, considering as you just said, and one of the reasons why hamas is in power now is because of the ties, because of the movements, because of the pushing out of mahmoud abbas? >> i don't think unexpected. but right now, it is the only available option to create another political leadership or support another political leadership would likely lead to a lot of infighting. and i think the other thing that we have to keep in mind, in addition to what you just mentioned, is that of course, it was the israelis that propped up hamas, allowed certain funds to flow to hamas because netanyahu made a calculated decision that hamas was more extreme. their extreme leaders would not only split and thus weaken the palestinians, they will also make his more extreme views and his more extreme coalition seem justified. so, the israelis have got to

step away from hamas, just as they have to embrace the palestinian authority, as they have not in recent years. and i think blinken meeting with them sends a message not just to the palestinian authority or to hamas, but also to the israeli government. >> i'm glad you brought that up. the role of the israelis here. i want to read a part of your piece about that. so while the immediate support the u.s. showed for us well in the wake of hamas atcities on october 7th was humane and appropriate founded in present joe biden's more lease and se that very same bin character trait will likely soon require a rift with netanyahu. you go on to say, we should indicate at we will actively support a major state peace initiative athonly acceptable outcome of this fighting with the political factions who have proposed initiatives lead for nearly years by netanyahu have failed one way or another, we must also indicate that we expect to see him and the real opponents peace go, or israel connects

to see a real reduction in u.s. support. do you think the president is willing to go so far as to indicate to the prime minister of israel that he must go if they want to achieve real peace in the region, or even have a chance at it? >> i think the president, first of all, i think he believes that baby netanyahu is not gonna last as the prime minister much beyond the end of this conflict. i think he knows that among the israeli people, netanyahu was week to begin with, and he was weakened by mishandling this particular conflict. but i think the united states, which came into this with this bear hug approach, we're gonna support israel, but we also want to guide israel, and that is starting to realize that israel is pushing back and ignoring some of what the u.s. is saying. and therefore, the united states is gonna have to say it much more forcefully.

and i think biden who really does feel committed to this war being conducted within the guidelines of international law, and in a humane way as much as possible, i think he's gonna have to at some point very soon step up and say, look if you don't follow the guidelines that we set, there are going to be consequences for our relationship, that it's going to have consequences for israel. i don't know if it was said yet. i think we intimated it. but that's why i wrote this piece. i think the likelihood of a rift between biden and netanyahu in the near term over the conduct of this war is growing with each and every passing day. >> david rothkopf, as always, it's a pleasure to talk to you, sir. thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ up next, everybody the government funding deadline is less than two weeks away. at the work being done, if there is any, to prevent a shutdown. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free.

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right now get a free footlong at subway. like the new deli heroes. buy one footlong in the app, get one free. it's a pretty big deal. kinda like me. order in the subway app today. can we get real clear about life with psoriasis? yeah, i'm ready. is your treatment leaving you with uncontrolled symptoms?

like the cover-it-ups and brush-it-offs? enough with good enoughs. don't stay hiding or hurting. when your lotions and creams don't do enough to help treat the inflammation beneath the skin, causing plaques and pain, it's time to get real about psoriasis, so, your dermatologist can help you get clear. make the appointment and ask about real clear skin. >> welcome back. i want to turn to the capitol now, a lot going on over there. then you have the speaker and his slim republican majority have passed a partisan israeli aid package, a bill expected to be dead on arrival both in the senate and the white house as well. it is all coming ahead of a looming government shutdown in just under two weeks. i want to bring in nbc's julie tsirkin from capitol hill. we've got this november 17th deadline. we're gonna be talking about the possibility of this government shutdown if they can't get it together.

what is being done to get there? and then also, what was in this israeli aid package and what are they gonna do about it considering they'll take it up on the floor and the president has also said already that he's going to veto it? >> reporter: exactly, one house democrat i spoke to is basically waiting on the senate to send over their package, which is likely gonna have israel aid tied to ukraine aid, and also tied to some border security measures. but speaker mike johnson, the house speaker, defending his decision to couple the israel aid, 14 and a half billion dollars in military aid to those spending cuts, something the congressional budget office says we'll actually add to the deficit. nonetheless, though, johnson saying that that conditional tying of the aid two of those spending cuts, something that hasn't been done really before for these national security measures in something he'll keep on doing, despite the fact that i spoke to some house republicans who told me that they would have voted for aid to israel with or without those cuts. johnson also today on fox news

talking about that government funding deadline, saying he worked through the weekend to potentially come up with a plan for a stopgap government funding measure because he knows it will blow past that deadline without being able to fully fund the government for a year. watch what he said. >> the reason i look a little haggard this morning, shannon, is because i was up late last night. we work through the weekend on a stopgap measure. we recognize that we may not get all the appropriations bill done by this deadline, november 17th. but we are going to continue in good faith. >> yasmin, by now, our viewers all familiar that congress always works up until the deadline. so we have less than two weeks left. they don't really have a clear plan insight. they talked about this latter cr, which we are logistical nightmare for congress. but really, they don't have a complete complete plan for the new house speaker. >> julie tsirkin, thank you. different story. i want to bring in former congressman charlie dean who served as a republican for pennsylvania. i mean that sincerely. it seems like it's the same story every time on capitol hill especially when we're

trying to get government funding over that line, over the finish line. is it gonna happen? it's not gonna happen? really, no matter who is in office, who's leading the house. jonathan, i want to hear from you on what we just heard from julie, not only on this israel aid package which is where you gonna go nowhere, the first piece of legislation then your speaker tried to get through. and also the possibility of yet another government shutdown with less than two weeks to go. >> let me start with a government shutdown first. we have 12 days until the government shuts down. at some point, the speaker, speaker johnson will have to send over a funding bill to the senate. i suspect he may have to do some work with mccarthy before the last one, which is a surprise to everybody. he said over a clean funding bill, the stopgap one, and it got adapted. it got passed with over 300 votes. mccarthy is removed. i would say not because of that but the issues of the reason why mccarthy was taken down because his issues with the hard-liners was personal. there really wasn't any

continued resolution. i think johnson can cut him some slack. the question is will he serve a clean bill before the deadline? i suspect he will. now, on israel, the issue there will be the senate is gonna send back a package containing israel aid, ukraine, and border funding, and they will send it back to speaker johnson and he will have to make a decision. bring it up or not bring it up. and then i think that will put a lot of pressure on jim's caucus because republicans are divided in congress over the ukraine aid. there is a lot of republicans who want to support ukraine, but some don't. but they also support israel. so, he's not playing with the strongest hand here on this issue when it comes to the ukraine aid. he's gonna have to give ukraine aid as well i suspect. >> this israel aid package also, as being assessed by the congressional budget office, mike johnson has said that the number one national security issue this nation is our national debt. congressional budget office is saying that this israel aid package that he brought to the floor and have passed down partisan lines, according to

cbo, it's going to add 12 billion dollars to the national debt. what's your reaction to that? >> well, my reaction is he's gonna have to separate some of these what we call pay force from this bill. the emergency spending bill, essentially what this is, the foreign assistance to israel and ukraine, they are typically not and offset. in this case, as you point out correctly, the cbo says this offset will have to be the deficit and not reduce it. so i don't think he's going to win on this issue. again, you know, whatever is going to become law, it will need 60 votes in the senate. the senate will not approve this unless the house gets very serious sending something to the senate that they can actually vote for. >> i want to take a step back here and read a quote for you from ruth graham in the new york times aboutpeaker johnson. for some observers, mr. johnson 's resume, however mainre, and his rhetoric however mildly delivered, represent the alarming rise of a new christian right that refuses to

additional conservatism and authoritarian instincts. mr. johns said that the popular self styled hist david barton who has questioned the constitutionality of the separation of church and state, has had a profound on him. what do you make of that analysis? >> there's certainly no question that the new speaker, johnson, is very, very conservative on the social issues. i think over the long term, for the republican party, it must become a much more socially tolerant party. you know, taking these very hard positions on, you know, lgbt rights, on abortion, especially on abortion, at this moment, that's not a pathway to victory for republicans. they're on the wrong side and some of these issues. and as the country is becoming more diverse religiously, i think that will be a very difficult position to sustain long term. so, i get he's, the energy of

the base right now, very hard question conservative element. but, look, donald trump is their standard there. he is an evangelical. i just think this is a right path for the party as it's wanting to embrace more people and bringing more people, it's gonna be hard to do that with this kind of christian nationalists move. >> former congressman charlie dent, thank you, sir, appreciate it. >> thank you, yasmin. >> had at the top of the hour, what we're learning about secretary of state tony blinken's surprise visit in the west bank and meeting with the president of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas. after the break, though, we are live in cincinnati where buffalo bills player damar hamlin is set to make his big return to the field after being struck with cardiac arrest less than a year ago. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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from my physician. i was 424 pounds, and my doctor was recommending weight loss surgery. to avoid the surgery, i had to make a change. so i decided to go with golo and it's changed my life. when i first started golo and taking release, my cravings, they went away. and i was so surprised. you feel that your body is working and functioning the way it should be and you feel energized. golo has improved my life in so many ways. i'm able to stand and actually make dinner. i'm able to clean my house. i'm able to do just simple tasks that a lot of people call simple, but when you're extremely heavy they're not so simple. golo is real and when you take release >> hi, everybody. and follow the plan, it works. tonight is going to mark a very emotional return to cincinnati for buffalo bills safety damar

hamlin. it's gonna be his first game back on the bengals field since his cardiac arrest and months ago. nbc's jesse coach is where the bills and the bengals are gonna square of it just a couple of hours. i have to tell you, when the more had this cardiac arrest, it was actually when i was having my art shoes as well. i remember watching it from a hospital bed at the time, just, you know, all struck by what's taking place on the field there. and i know what's that like for myself to return to work. his experience obviously is ten fold from what i went through but unbelievable to see him back on the field today. i imagine a lot of emotion and excitement surrounding that. >> reporter: yeah, and i've been in touch, yasmin, with a bills fan that we got to know last season. as this was unfolding. and she's got a sign thanking its support for buffalo and for damar hamlin's number, number three. there's a connection between these two teams, their fan bases, and now what i think is

unique in the scheme of things when we talked about football, damar hamlin is going to be here tonight. that's our expectation. we don't know yet if he will play. he's only seen action in one game so far this year. but the fact that he is returning to play in football is remarkable, when we look at what he went through last season. it was ten months ago on this field when damar hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and suddenly collapsed over what looked like a routine play. he has since been back to cincinnati. he has since played football again. we are waiting to see if he will play football in cincinnati. either way, this is going to be something to watch not just from his perspective, but his teams as well, remember, his teammates were clearly emotionally distraught, tears running down players eyes, and this team is coming back to cincinnati for their first game here since that happened. we will be watching that as it unfolds and we will have an exclusive sit-down interview with damar talking about the return to cincinnati tomorrow morning. that also. that's